A BIG congratulations go to Patricia Stevenson-McGee for winning the 2020 A2Y Chamber and La Fontaine Teacher of the Year recognition! Patricia is an 8th-grade teacher at YCMS and was one of many candidates up for the award in Washtenaw County schools. Again, congratulations to Patricia Stevenson-McGee for all of her hard work and this excellent award! This is the second year in a row that a Ypsilanti Community Schools teacher has won this award--which is a testament to the greatness here at YCS!

Heeren USDA Farmers to Family Food Box Program

Just a Reminder: Fruits and Vegetables are available today, June 2, for 200 households at the Willow Run Middle School Campus. 12:00-2:00 pm

We are excited to announce a new partnership with the Heeren USDA Farmers to Family Food Box Program. The program will begin this Tuesday, May 26, at the Willow Run Middle School campus from 12-2 p.m. This program will run weekly every Tuesday until the end of June 2020. 200 boxes are distributed on a first-come, first-serve basis and will provide fresh produce boxes to families! Please see the flyer for details.

Welcome to Ypsilanti Community Schools

Message from Superintendent Alena Zachery-Ross

Ypsilanti Community Schools
Continuity of Learning and COVID-19 Response Plan

District News -

Ypsilanti Community Schools would like to thank the YCS Food Department for all of their hard work over the last few months but especially with the new fresh produce program on Tuesdays open to our families and community. The Heeren USDA Farmers to Family Food Box Program was featured on aWEMU 89.1 interview this past week with Tiffany Houston, YCS Food Director.

It is that time of the year--Kindergarten Round-Up! YCS is hosting virtualKindergarten Round-Upsessions for Perry Early Learning Center and Henry Ford Early Learning Center in early June. Please see the flyer for all the steps and details to register your young scholar. Also, here is the pdf link to the website-

The Ypsilanti International Baccalaureate Elementary School application for enrollment is available on theYCS website. The application is open until August 2020, and if necessary, a lottery will be conducted for slots.

YCS has partnered with Washtenaw Area Council for Children on a Cyber Safety webinar to help understand safety while students navigate online learning. The webinar requires pre-registration and is on June 1, 2020, starting at 5 p.m. This is free training for all YCS parents.

The Superintendent’s office sent out adetailed letter and enrollment survey to determine our pupil numbers for the fall of 2020. Please take a moment tofill out the survey and review the message to learn about the different learning options available in the fall.

Lastly, YCHS families, this is a reminder that 2020-2021 course options are now available for selection via the PowerSchool portal. Please take the time to select your course for the fall school year. A detailed video was sent to students from the YCHS counselors as a guide to navigate the portal for class selection. We are asking that all students select their classes before the end of the school year on June 12, 2020.

Letter from Superintendent with Enrollment Survey and Staff Survey

Thank you for your ongoing support of our school district. Your resilience and ability to pivot and partner with us when changing our instruction to remote learning at a moment’s notice has been a challenge, but with a dedicated staff and the support of families, we have been able to adjust and provide a collaborative learning environment that emphasizes our value of being “Stronger Together”.Link to read the superintendent's letter

Fall Planning
With just two short weeks left in the school year, we have turned our attention to what education in our district will look like for the 2020-2021 school year.

This planning process includes a “go slow to go fast model” that we embrace as a district and includes a process to incorporate the voices of students, staff, and our community stakeholders' to guide our decisions. Our goal is to make sound, comprehensive decisions in the best interest of our students, which may mean the decisions seem delayed. Your patience and understanding is appreciated.

There are many considerations within each of the scenarios listed above that need your input. Our committees and task force groups are utilizing the MI-Excel Blueprint system of meetings and planning tools to address questions, prioritize work, develop innovative methods of providing high-quality instruction, and finally to create action steps.

Survey
You will be included in multiple ways, the first is a survey. This survey is designed to gather your specific family/staff preferences to guide our planning process. The enrollment survey is for family input. The staff survey is for current YCS employees’ input. Please take a moment to share your thoughts and needs by clicking on the appropriate link below:Enrollment SurveyStaff Survey

Once we have gathered your feedback, we will incorporate it into our plans and invite you to a virtual presentation to learn more and be able to ask questions and provide suggestions. This will be a collaborative effort as we work toward our goal of meeting the educational and safety needs of all of our students and staff. Please continue to look for our updates as we continue to intentionally plan for the 20-21 school year.

YCHS Yearbook Signing

We are excited to announce that the Ypsilanti Community High School yearbook signing tradition is alive and it’s fully digital to suit our socially distanced students.

Jostens has just launched a new platform, Yearbook Digital Signing Pages, that gives every student in our school the chance to create virtual signing pages, invite their friends to leave messages, and print out the final pages to keep with the yearbook as a permanent keepsake. This is free for every student whether they purchased a yearbook or not.

Here is the link and video to get started. Happy Signing! - The signing ends on June 12.

Sexual Assault Statement from YCS Regarding Social Media Thread

Please find an important message from the YCS Administration:

Ypsilanti Community Schools takes all claims of sexual assault or misconduct very seriously and is committed to providing safe environments for everyone in our YCS community. We understand that there are allegations of a person who has had previous ties with Ypsilanti Community Schools on the #EMUExpose page. We encourage anyone that is a victim of sexual assault or misconduct to contact a local police authority and file an incident report.

All staff who work in the district go through a screening process with the Washtenaw County Sheriff’s Office (LiveScan) and/or through the Washtenaw Intermediate School District. Any volunteers who interact with our students or programs are screened using the Internet Criminal History Access Tool (Ichat).

Again, Ypsilanti Community Schools is committed to providing safe environments for all of our students and support our community stakeholders who may need to report an incident.

Washtenaw Superintendents' Association Statement on Racial Equity, Police Brutality, and Justice in the United States

Please find a detailed letter from the Washtenaw Superintendents' Association regarding the current events happening in the United States and our community. The superintendents of Washtenaw County want to acknowledge and stand with black and brown students and families.

From Food Gatherers - Virtual Summer Food for Kids

Dear Community Partners,
Food Gatherers invites you to join us for a virtual Summer Food for Kids Promotion Event on Tuesday, June 9th, 1:00 - 2:00 p.m. Please register here and you will be sent a link to join the event on Zoom. The event is free.

Presenters include Markell Miller and LeRonica Roberts, Food Gatherers; Tiffany Houston, Ypsilanti Community Schools; and Victoria Davis, Ann Arbor Public Schools. Together, they will share the summer food resource options in Washtenaw County for families with children, along with materials you can use to promote these resources to the families you serve. Additionally, we will be asking for your input on other ways we can promote free summer meals in our community. There will be time for Q&A

Any community partner working with families in Washtenaw County is welcome, and encouraged, to attend!

News

ENROLLMENT INFORMATION

ENROLLMENT PROCEDURES

Welcome to the Ypsilanti Community Schools

We are proud of our schools and strive to provide an outstanding educational program for all students. We look forward to working with parents and guardians to ensure a successful school experience for each student! Enrollment is at the buildings.

The district offers a variety of outstanding opportunities for all students. This is the "place to be" if you are interested in enrolling a child in kindergarten through twelfth grade.

Our Online Registration for "New Students" is Back Up

"NEW" Student Registration Only

YCS Enrollment - Registration -You will receive a call from YCS to finish up the registration process.

Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA or Act)

Employee Rights

COVID-19 Human Resources - FAQs

A photograph created by 11th grader at YCHSLosanyDoumbouya just won the high school category for the 2020 PDNedu Student Photo Contest which is a nation-wide photo competition put on by PDN (Photo District News).

As an International Baccalaureate (IB) partner school with Washtenaw International Middle Academy (WIMA), we want to share important dates and details about the 6th-grade WIMA Application Process for the 2020-2021 school year. We hope you can join us at the WIMA Admissions Info Night on January 8th @ 6pm where you can learn about WIMA's caring, diverse, and academically-focused learning community! The application opens tomorrow, Friday, November 8th and closes February 7th. For more information about WIMA&WIHI, please visit our website (wihi.org) and view this informational video.

YIES students who apply prior to the deadline have priority into WIMA after siblings (State Policy) are admitted. Since we have limited seats (64 total), we will likely have a lottery for the seats available for WIMA 6th grade students. Please review the dates and application details attached and contact admissions coordinator, Kelly Cartwright (KCartwright@wihi.org) with any questions.

Shared Link URL for The Charles H. Wright Museum and Detroit Public TV Partner on New Performance Series

YCS Power of YOUth presents: #GiveASmile Gratitude Banner

Our first effort with YCS Power of YOUth is to publicly thank some of the essential workers in the Ypsilanti Community. We decided to personally thank the essential workers from our community who work hard and take risks so that the majority of us can buy food and have what we need. We chose to begin with grocery store workers. Our community will design a banner that will be displayed in local Kroger stores to express to the workers that we appreciate them, that we see them, and that we value them. This is a fun activity that offers families, siblings, and students an opportunity to create something for others.

RAHS Clinics are able to provide over the phone counseling services to students (and/or get them connected to needed resources) at phone number 734-998-2163. Washtenaw County CMH is also available for mental health support of families at 734-544-3050.

In addition, we are creating a guide to support staff self-care strategies during this difficult time and compiling resources that school staff can share directly with students to support student development and use of coping skills. If you find there are other mental health components we can provide and promote, please don't hesitate to let me know.

YMCA:EMU:YCS CHILD CARE

Looking for Affordable Child Care?

YMCA:EMU:YCS CHILD CARE

Link to more information page
A new child care program opened this summer at the former Chapelle Community School, an elementary school within the Ypsilanti Community Schools District at 111 South Wallace Boulevard, Ypsilanti, MI 48197.

Registration forms may be found here. For more information about touring the facility, please contact Lee Anna Pasker-Edens at lpasker@annarborymca.org or 734.661.8058.

Top 5 Reasons to choose Ypsilanti Community Schools

More News

YCS Sex Education

Advisory Board

We are seeking YCS parent input before recommendations are sent to the Board of Education. If you are a parent, please complete the survey found on our SEAB page.Link to flyer information

Advisory Board Application

We're also recruiting new members of the YCS Sex Education Advisory Board to meet 4-6 times during the 2020 school year. Join the team by completing the application, the link to the application is found below.

We're also recruiting new members of the YCS Sex Education Advisory Board to meet 4-6 times during the 2020 school year. Join the team by completing the application, the link to the application is found below. If a paper application is necessary, please contact Shannon Hurley at Email: SHurley2@ycschools.us or Ph: 734-221-1104

An application for parents to join the Sex Ed Advisory Board.

RAHS

Regional Alliance for Healthy Schools - University of Michigan for Healthy Schools

School-Based Health Center

YCHS contact phone number: 734-221-1007

YCMS contact phone number: 734-221-2271

Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1975

Ypsilanti Community Schools is in full compliance with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1975, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in District programs, services, and activities. The District's policy manual for Section 504 can be found on the District's website.

The purpose of YCS is to develop mindful, engaged students with the skill set, work ethic, and attitude to contribute to a community that honors diversity, equality and justice.

Our Vision

YCS is — Academically strong and committed to transforming in ways that help students thrive.
YCS is —The choice for a trusted, reliable and socially just district.
YCS is —A sense of connection for families' and students' in a district where each and everyone is valued and belongs.
YCS is — Your consistently well-managed and organized school district.